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ADDRESS 



HDEIDia^^TIOlSr 



OF THE SECOND HALL OF THE 



FRANKLIN AND MARSHALL COLLEGE 



LAX CAST KIJ, PA . . 
JULY 28, 1857, 

l;Y 

^^ I^EWIS M. STEINER. A. M., M^I>.- 

(Graduate Member of the Society ;) rf 

v^UJ^ PROFESf*OR OF CHEMISTRY, MARYLAND COLLEOB OF THARMACT ; LECTFUER OX '^^ 
niYSJCS AND CHEMISTRY, COLLEGE OF ST. JAMES; &C. 




(UIAMBERSBURG. V.\ 

P 1{ T X T R 1 > T? Y M . K T E F F I 

is:,7. 







AN 



ADDRESS 



IDEr)IC-A.TI03Sr 

/ ^^ I ^ /. '^ A OF THE SECOND HALL OF THE 

V;VsTrrvr^' 

^0et|an Ifiterarj §0cietg, 



OF 



FRANKLIN AND MARSHALL COLLEGE 

J/ 



LANCASTEE, PA., 
/ JULY 28, 1857, 



LEWIS H. STEINER. A. M., M. D., 

(Graduate Meniljer of the Society;) 

PKOFESSOR OF CHEMISTRY, MARYLAND COLLEGE OF PHARMACY ; LECTURER ON 
PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY, COLLEGE OF ST. JAMES ; &C. 



CHAMBERSBURG, PA: 
PRINTED BY M. KIEFEER & CO 
4 1857. 



Franklin and Marshall College, > 
Lancaster City, Pa., July 28th, 1857. J 
L. H. Steiner, a. M., M. D., 

Dear Sir — We, in behalf of the Goethean Liter- 
ary Society, tender you our ■warmest thanks for the able, eloquent, and in- 
structive address delivered at the dedication of our Second Hall, and respect- 
fully ask the favor of a copy for publication. 
Yours truly, 

CHARLES G. FISHER, 
THOxMAS C. LEINBACH, 
SAMUEL TRANSU, 

Committee of G. L. Society. 
To Dr. L. H. Steiner, A. M. 



Lancaster, July 29th, 1857. 

Gentlemen . — 

In reply to your letter of yesterday, requesting a copy of 
the address I had the honor of delivering at the dedication of your Hall, I 
have only to say, that it is at the disposal of the Society, although it is re- 
gretted by me that it was not worthier of the occasion. 

With best wishes for the future prosperity of the Goethean Literary Socie- 
ty, I have the honor, gentlemen, to be most truly 

Yours, 

LEWIS H. STEINER 
To Charles G. Fisher, T. C. Leinbach, Samuel Transu, Committee. 



ADDRESS. 



Gentlemen of the Gcethean Literary Society : — 

Eleven years ago, the friends and well-wishers of 
our common Society, being assembled within the 
walls of a noble building that had been erected 
through the energy and enthusiastic zeal of your pre- 
decessors, witnessed the services of a dedication. 
The manly undertaking of erecting an edifice, which 
should be the receptacle for a large and valuable 
Library, and an attractive collection of objects of 
scientific interest and which, at the same time, should 
answer as a place for the regular meetings of the So- 
ciety, had been accomplished after large expendi- 
ture, and months of toil. The honored and beloved 
President of Marshall College,"^ with due ceremonial, 
dedicated that edifice to " the highpurjDOses for which 
it had been erected," and then exhorted its owners 
to be true to their noble calling as students of Chris- 
tian philosophy and Christian science. The incum- 
bent of the chair of Aesthetics and German Litera- 
ture,f — the echo of whose fame had reached our coun- 
try from his distant home in the Prussian Capitol, 
and who had been induced, by the hope of doing true 
service to the cause of religion and science, to leave 
the attractive temptations of the great metropolis and 
to take up his abode among us, — on that occasion, 
addressed the Society on the beauties of the Divina 
Comedia, and the pleasing numbers of the mystic 
poet seemed, in some way, to associate themselves 

* Rev. J. W. Nevin, D. D. f Rev. P. Scliaff, D. D. 



6 

witji the occasion. Each Groethean felt that the Soci- 
ety was Ms Beatrice, and that if he should prove true 
to the obligations of religion, patriotism and mental 
culture imposed by his attachment to her, his future 
would abound in works such as no man need despise. 
It was a proud and happy day ! A new era had 
been inaugurated for the Society. Joy beamed on 
every countenance, and youthful hearts beat tumul- 
tuously as bright visions of an useful and prosperous 
Future presented themselves in Fancy's magic mir- 
ror. The dreams of three long, anxious, toilsome 
years were realized, and each laborer exulted that he 
had been permitted to aid in the realization and per- 
fection of such an embodiment of those attractive 
dreams. 

The Hall, however, which was then dedicated to 
such noble objects, and within whose walls there had 
afterwards been collected much that was valuable in 
Literature and Science, was not destined to be the 
permanent home of the Society. A wider and more 
attractive sphere of operations was offered to the Col- 
lege, and alma mater left her retirement to take up 
her abode nearer the busy haunts of man, — where 
the pulsations of energy and progress should directly 
react upon her children and incite them to such at- 
tainments in study as would most assuredly fit them 
for manly work in the world. She had been enticed 
from the shady groves, the verdant meadows inter- 
sected by gay rivulets that babbled as they flowed 
along, of happiness and peace, — from the old home 
with its every nook and corner full of joyous incident 
and endeared by some fond memory, connected with 
the past history of those of her children, who were 
doing honor to her instructions though absent from 



the home circle, — from the grand old hills that 
proudly lifted their heads, in the distance, above the 
picturesque landscapes which surrounded her home, 
and that seemed to guard the happy retirement from 
all intrusion of the world without. Tliere^ she had 
found delight in imparting such counsel as should fit 
each son with armor, stronger than that made of 
triple brass, against the assaults of the enemies they 
should meet when their pupilage w^as over ; and 
there, as the time for parting arrived and band after 
band went forth to take its place amid their breth- 
ren, she bid them God-speed with an anxious and 
yet a confident belief that His blessing would rest 
upon their paths, if these should be those of virtue 
and truth. Duty required her to sacrifice old scenes 
and old associations. With a pang of regret for the 
Past, but with high hopes of a brilliant Future, she 
followed the dictates of duty, and took up her abode 
amid the enterprize and industr}' of another commu- 
nity, Avhere strong hands were ready to aid her weak- 
ness and where the benefits of her teachings could 
irradiate fi^om so advantageous a position that the 
land throughout its extent might enjoy them. 

There was many a sad heart in the Goethean So- 
ciety when the necessity arose which made them re- 
sign their first home — consecrated by the labor of 
toiling years and endeared by the most agreeable 
recollections of the Past. Every stone, removed in 
the preparation of the ground for its foundation, 
could have told a tale concerning the self-denial and 
labor of its owners. The future, which mostly Avears 
a bright aspect to the eyes of youth, here seemed dark 
and forbidding. Clouds of forbidding omen obscured 
the visions that the eye of Hope might have depicted 



8 

in attractive colors. ^Notwithstanding all this, filial 
affection required that every connection with the old 
home should be severed. The parent's welfare de- 
manded this sacrifice, — why should the child debate 
a question which human impulse authoritatively and 
at once decides ? With noble self-denial, and laud- 
able sacrifice of its own, the Society relinquished the 
home so dear for its past history and present benefits, 
and hastened to find another, where alma mater 
would be surrounded with friends, stronger yet than 
those of her youth and more desirous of making her 
benign influence co-extensive with the spread of our 
own great country. 

Here, collected in a new land, as it were, the mem- 
bers of the Goethean Society quietly assumed the du- 
ties and the toils, which always accompany the com- 
mencement of an undertaking. They possessed a 
past experience, which was rich in bright examples 
of untiring perseverance and its results, in a knowl- 
edge of the rewards that attend youthful vigor when 
regulated by prudent forethought, and in a due 
appreciation of the dangers and disasters that follow 
unwise counsels and rash designs. They longed for 
a home, which they could call their own, and anxious- 
ly awaited the time, when they could demonstrate, 
to the satisfaction of their predecessors, that the old 
spirit still animated the sons of the beloved Society. 
Meanwhile, their energies being carefully husband- 
ed, they nerved themselves for the task, counted well 
the cost, and took prudent counsel of those who had 
been most efficient in the past history of the Society. 
The time at length arrived, and with proper ceremo- 
nies they laid the corner-stone of that building, the 
top-stone of which, so to speak, we have been assem- 



9 

bled this day to lay in the presence of a general re- 
union of the brethren of the Society. While we gaze 
upon this work of youthful energy, — this temple that 
the noble enthusiasm of American youth has erected 
for the cultivation of Literature and Science, we feel 
proud to declare that the Goetheans of the present 
day are no degenerate successors of their Society's 
founders. They deserve the thanks of the latter, 
for developing the germ of enterprize that had been 
carefully implanted at the time of the Society's first 
establishment, and they claim, from the friends of 
the College, the Church, and the citizens of this thriv- 
ing business community, active assistance and co- 
operation in all their future works, ofifering this as an 
earnest of their ability to accomplish any thing they 
undertake. 

To the Trustees of the College a pledge has been 
given, in the erection of this building, that its stu- 
dents are worthy of all the care and attention they 
can possibly bestow upon the Institution under their 
charge. Wherever manly feelings prompt manly 
deeds, — there all encouragement is due, — there the 
Future holds out most brilliant prospects of greater 
and greater triumphs. If such a work can be ac- 
complished during the pupilage of youth, what may 
not be expected when the full developed man, pos- 
sessing mens sana in corpore sano shall take upon 
himself the cares and duties of citizenship in our 
great Republic. Every thing is teeming with life 
and energy throughout the land, and the College, that 
sends forth its graduates w^ith cultivated minds and 
active habits, — with correct views of duties both so- 
cial and political, demands the most careful attention 
at the hands of its legal guardians. The more they 



10 

can aid it by prudent superintendence or by full en- 
dowments of professorships, the greater aid will they 
bring towards securing on an immovable basis the 
peculiar institutions and blessings of our country. 

To the citizens of Lancaster, however, the success 
of these Literary Societies is a subject of special con- 
gratulation. It has given them two Halls, which 
will open rich stores of knowledge for the whole com- 
munity, — where the rising generation may not only 
have access to the treasures of knowledge, which are 
laid up in books, but where the youthful soldier can 
learn the use of the armor required afterwards to 
withstand the hostile attacks of opposition, as well 
as of those weapons which he must himself employ 
in the great battle of life. The bold step taken by 
these students in erecting, on either side of the Col- 
lege edifice, structures which exhibit the strength of 
the sons, while they reflect so much credit on the 
College itself, should afford cause for pride with eve- 
ry citizen of this community. It forms a guarantee 
as to the permanent location of the College here, 
which could not have been given so well in any oth- 
er way, and it must prove a stimulus to active exer- 
tions in behalf of the Institution itself. Let not then 
the citizens of Lancaster, amid their enterprising ac- 
tivity and large accumulations, — amid their efforts 
to develop the great resources of the Keystone 
stone State, — let them not be forgetful of the institu- 
tions and social organizations in their midst which 
have been established for the education of the moral 
and mental faculties of the young, — for the uprear- 
ing of minds that may do honor to their native place, 
making its wealth a blessing through means of the 
intelligence and liberality that shall control its ap- 



11 

plication in the construction of works of utility and 
taste. Wealth, wiiliout such culture, is like the un- 
hewn marble, — although an accidental cleavage may 
exhibit a clean and smooth surface, yet its misshapen 
and rude form excites no admiration in the soul, nor 
does it elevate the mind to a contemplation of the beau- 
tiful. It is valuable only as material^ which must, 
however, receive the inijDress of mind before it can 
effectively attract the attention of man and develop 
aesthetic feeling. But wealth witli culture is like the 
marble, after the sculptor has endued it with the 
glowing form that his artistic soul has created. It 
excites the admiration of man, produces a refining 
effect upon his feelings, proves to be the means of an 
union between the useful and the beautiful, and thus 
brings into harmonious relation that which will pro- 
mote the development of the practical as well as the 
aesthetic portion of man's nature. It is culture, men- 
tal and moral, that will transform wealth from a 
curse into one of the greatest temporal blessings 
which a beneficent Creator could confer upon his 
creatures. Do not neglect the important object 
which looks toward you for support, and while your 
portion of this great State is hailed as its garden 
sjDot, whose riches delight the traveller's eye, and 
whose fertile fields and busy manufactories are the 
envy of less favored counties, only apply the mme 
vigor that has made you so pre-eminent in business 
successes to the support of your institutions of learn- 
ing, and your reputation for mental advancement 
will soon be equal to that of any portion of our coun- 
try. On all sides I perceive the indications of what 
you have already done for this special object, and 
while the student's thanks are yours for the Past, 



12 

let him feel that he will be supported, in the Future, 
by an appreciating community. 

But the responsibilities incurred by the Society, 
on account of this enterprize, are far greater than 
those which devolve either upon the Trustees or the 
Patrons of the College. It has shown abilities that 
are capable of producing important effects in the 
cause of Letters, and the world has a right to expect 
that the fruits of its future labors will be neither 
small nor unimportant. Having grown to man's 
estate, it must no longer consider its duties as cir- 
cumscribed as these were during its infancy. The 
tasks assigned to the child are proportionate to 
his physical and mental vigor ; but the full-grown 
man is expected to undertake tasks of far greater 
magnitude, which shall afford full room for the ex- 
ercise of all his faculties. The importance of the 
Society must increase from year to year, and among 
the chief inducements that shall attract ambitious 
students to the walls of the College will be the ad- 
vantages so freely offered by the Societies that have 
grown up under its fostering care. These will at- 
tract generation after generation of students, and the 
benefits that will thus result to the youth of our land 
will form a chaplet, to grace the interior of these 
Halls, more beautiful than those artistic decorations, 
which, pleasing the eye and gratifying the taste, 
show the wondrous skill of both architect and pain- 
ter. My brethren ! a great and important trust has 
been confided to you, — show yourselves worthy of it. 
Much has been given and much will be required. 
If you grow weary and neglect those labors that will 
henceforth constitute your mission as members of a 
Society, which this day publicly gives a pledge that 



13 

it will labor in the cause of letters, — if you neglect 
your duties, the Ycrclict of public opinion will declare 
you guilty of doing detriment to Literature and 
Science, and instead of being honored as true men, 
you will receive the traitor's brand from your 
brethren. Be strong and show yourselves worthy of 
your vocation. Be true and the rewards of truth 
will be yours. Be faithful, and the present prosper- 
ity of your society will be small as compared with 
the abundant harvests that the autumn of its exis- 
tence shall furnish for its garners, and in green old 
age it will be honored for its past good deeds and its 
promise of ever-increasing usefulness. 

Let this Hall be dedicated, with all due solemnity 
and reverence, to the cause of Beligion and Christiani- 
ty/, Whatever is great and good and true must ne- 
cessarily have its origin in these ideas. Without 
some religion, some acknowledgment of a supreme 
Law which imposes certain duties on man with pen- 
alties for their neglect, — some acknowledgment of a 
ground or basis of authority, vaster than any which 
finite beings could possibly form, upon which the 
superstructure of moral accountability shall rest, — 
without this, all the brilliant accomplishments of 
man are as mere whited sepulchres, covering naught 
but the efPete and putrescent remains of a Grod-given 
soul. Without the recoo-nition of somethino' more 
binding and authoritative than the will of man, — all 
his acts become those of mere animal instinct or, 
what is still worse, of fiendish instigation. To the 
father of our country is attributed the sentiment that 
we must " indulge with, caution the supposition that 
morality can be maintained without religion ;" but we 
need not hesitate to declare that it cannot exist with- 



14 

out sucli a basis. Grreece and Rome, in all their 
glory, felt that " the father of gods and men " had to 
be respected and adored by all their citizens, and 
that all good works and noble deeds were only exe- 
cuted by those who feared his just vengeance. An 
English writer,* with much truth, says it would be 
against '' evidence to say that there ever was a time, 
when a divine fatherhood did not make itself mani- 
fest to the Romans as tlie object of their confidence 
and their devotion through the different objects 
which were reverenced at the private and public 
altar." So long as this idea existed supreme and 
absolute, free from all attempts to exhibit it under 
the form of a thousand different abstractions— each 
supposed to act as a sub-divinity over a separate de- 
partment of the universe and to control distinct por- 
tions without necessary association with the others, — 
so long as they remained true to this parental idea, 
did Roman greatness last. The attributes of the su- 
preme Father were supposed, in some degree, to be 
conferred upon the Roman lawgivers, by virtue of 
their position, and the reverential title of Patres Con- 
scrijoti was applied to them ; and the idea descended 
still further to the family circle, where the wishes of the 
father were considered as all-powerful commands to 
his own children. Fius ^neas was pious because he 
was aifectionate and dutiful to his aged father An- 
chises, and he was aflPectionate because he recognized 
the authority which one, in such a position, had the 
right to exercise over a son. Home, government, 
religion, — all were connected together as possessing 
laws based upon something outside of the individual, 
and yet which had implanted in his breast an image 

• Maurice's Learning and Working, 230. 



15 

of itself too necessary for his existence to be torn from 
that resting-phtce without doing injury to his whole 
being. Here was a Religion, whose followers were 
honest and faithful, — guiding their steps by the dim 
light with which they were visited. So long as this 
was preserved, the glory of Rome was great and 
overwhelming, — the honor of being a Roman citi- 
zen was more impressive and protective than any 
mere gaudy insignia of power. But when all this 
lost its earnestness and, in consequence, its reality, — 
when Jove was looked upon as one of an immense 
number of gods who were actuated with passions like 
men, then all became hollow show, and a merry Ovid 
could hold his nation's gods up to derision. Then 
began the downfall of Roman greatness. Its citizens 
had lost all love of truth, had ceased to be honest, and 
their strenoih was turned into weakness. 

The pages of History devoted to other nations ex- 
hibit, on careful inspection, the same results. 'No 
nation has ever been great which has not had a deep 
reverence for the Supreme Being. It is true that 
this, with pagan nations w^as a hlind reverence ; it 
was not, however, the fear of slaves but the worship 
which a great mind is always ready to offer up at the 
shrine of God. 

When the light of Christianity was poured upon 
the world in all its glory, and the veil, which had 
obscured the vision of paganism was removed, then 
the religion of fear was supplanted by that of Love. 
But this did not remove the necessity of reverence; 
nay ! it rather increased it, since we learn to rever- 
ence those whom we love in proportion as the feeling 
of love grows stronger within our breasts. It was 
calculated to infuse its principles into the whole be- 



16 

ing of man, — to cause a subordination of all tlie sen- 
sual imj^ulses of his nature to the dictates of the 
highest of all laws, and to make him more anaxious 
to obey those which human authority — permitted by 
the divine to exercise command over him — had im- 
posed as necessary for the governance of himself and 
brethren when bound together by social or business 
ties. His moral nature was constrained, if it would 
be true, to cultivate the duties, that this truest form 
of religion taught him, he owed to his God, his fel- 
low-man and himself. If he proved recreant to these 
instructions, his course through life was bound up in 
lies and hypocrisies, and his own obedience, even to 
human laws, degenerated into that which was con- 
trolled by fear of punishment for their infraction. 

Where the whole tenor of life is controlled by the 
rules of Christianity, or rather where the spirit of 
the latter enters into and influences all the actions of 
man, there will the best citizen ever be found. This 
cannot clog or hinder his freedom of thought as a 
man of letters or science. The latter are but differ- 
ent forms of Truth. They cannot contradict the Su- 
preme Truth, of which they are but manifestations 
in various forms. Their greatest merit lies in their 
subordination to religion's laws. He that would 
cultivate them with the greatest benefit, must never 
bring them into collision with its commands. 

Let the buddings of Philosophy, Literature and 
Science, which may be developed within this Hall, 
be enticed from their resting place under the favor- 
ing auspices of the rich nurture of the Gospel, the 
dews of Heaven, and the glorious warmth of that 
Sun, whose rising and setting are not comprehended 
within the limits of time. Let no infidel doubts, with 



17 

regard to the reality of tlie most precious treasures 
with which man has been blessed, ever be uttered 
here ; ever frown down all attempts to treat holy and 
sacred things in a light and careless manner, as the 
first fiaiits of a spirit that is antichristian and irreli- 
gious in its character. The basis of all education is 
morality — Christian morality — and in all your plans 
for the education of the powers God has given you, 
be not unmindful of this great fact. In the words 
which were uttered by my respected friend (Dr. J. 
W. Xevin) at the dedication of your first Hall, per- 
mit me to express the hope that " your motto, Feveoda) 
0co^, be made to encircle the cross, that holy symbol 
of the Christian faith, and so let it be inscribed as a 
wreath of celestial light" around every gothic win- 
dow of this temple of letters ; " and so let it float 
perpetually as a sacred laharum^ in every literary 
enterprise, above your heads, the clear index at once 
of the course you are called to pursue, and the divine 
pledge of your success in the end." 

]S"ext let this Hall, which the sons of a mighty 
Republic have erected for the use of themselves and 
their successors, be dedicated to tlie spirit of -irue 
Patriotism, Our duties towards our fellow-men de- 
mand our attention next after those we owe to God. 
The two can never conflict. The Christian religion 
was not introduced with the design of establishing 
difibrent outward relations among men as such. The 
Master himself conformed to existing laws, and bade 
the hypocritical Pharisees and Herodians, who en- 
deavored to obtain an opinion on the question of 
tribute, to render to Ccesar the things that are Ccesar'^s, 
and to God the things that are God^s. The Apostle 
Paul found that his Christianity did not prohibit 
2 



18 

him from claiming tlie great rights which were in- 
herent with him as a Roman citizen. The establish- 
ment of Christianity involved not the overtmming of 
existing laws, but rather the inculcation of obedience 
to these, and, through the christianization of the ru- 
lers themselves, the after production of such altera- 
tions as would make them more endurable. The 
true Christian is never found violating Law. 

If then the duties of the Patriot and the Christian 
do not conflict with each other, it must be necessary 
to cultivate the true spirit of the former while we 
cherish that of the latter. And, now, probably more 
than at any previous period of our existence, the ne- 
cessity is urgent that the rising generation shall be 
endued with the spirit of true Patriotism. 

We have a noble and goodly land left us, as a her- 
itage, by our forefathers. At the time of its settle- 
ment, there were collected on its shores, men who 
were mostly actuated by a desire to find a home 
where God could be served in accordance with the 
promptings of their own religious belief. They left 
homes that had been endeared to them by the recol- 
lections of centuries, — ^the graves of their sires, and 
all the associations that can make a country precious 
to the heart of its sons, — ^with trust in the superin- 
tending care of the Almighty, they sought these 
shores to form a government, on the sound basis of 
mutual concessions and freedom of action to all who 
were recognized as contracting parties in its forma- 
tion, and also to all such as might place themselves, 
in good faith, under the protection of its laws. It 
was no mere love of conquest, — no low desire of earth- 
ly possessions that prompted these noble spirits. 
Their love of enterprize was controlled and modified 



19 

by a firm faith and a noble Christian spirit. But as 
their nationalities differed, so did the various forms 
of the Christian faith they professed, differ. It was 
a question pregnant with importance — " How shall 
the varying views and beliefs of the people be recon- 
ciled, — how can all be made to harmonize, and one 
great nation be formed of so many discordant ele- 
ments ?" The key to this was obtained in the idea 
of an Union, based upon a just and sound Constitu- 
tion, guaranteeing to each the preservation of those 
rights, throughout the ivhole confederacy, which his 
own particular State recognized as rights. Our fore- 
fathers pledged to the preservation of this ''their 
lives, their fortunes and their sacred honors," and 
did not hesitate to sacrifice the first two by way of 
showing the truth of the pledge as involved in the 
last. 

Wliat has resulted from all this ? We have grown 
up to be a mighty nation — known and respected for 
our worth and Avorks over the entire earth. Our 
commerce visits all nations, and our discoveries in 
the Arts and Sciences are adopted by those, whose 
age makes them veterans in the history of the w^orld, 
in comparison with our few years. United we have 
thus far stood together, — the convincing illustration 
of the truth of the old maxim, that " in union there is 
strength." Our beautiful flag extends its protection 
to our citizens, wherever they may go, and to be an 
American citizen, in this age, is as strong a protec- 
tion against imposition and tyranny as ever citizen- 
ship of Rome was in its palmiest days. 

To preserve all these benefits and advantages, we 
must preserve the Union intact and inviohite. Sick- 
ly sentimentalism has loudly proclaimed, that if its 



20 

own peculiar views do not prevail among our law- 
givers, — if all the patriotic spirits in our land do not 
agree to look at facts through the miserably refract- 
ing media which it presents for the purpose,— then 
it were better that this Union should be dissevered. 
Fanatics have also joined in this declaration, and be- 
cause the Church itself has determined to keep clear 
of all taint produced by interference with that which 
is outside of its province,— it has been branded as a 
den of hypocrites, and a meagre, vapid religionism, 
breathing destruction and death to its opponents, is 
now brought forth in place of that pure spirit of 
Christianity which teaches that the greatest of all 
the graces is charity. When attacks of this kind are 
made against our glorious Union and our religious 
belief, it behooves every true citizen to arm himself 
for the fray, and, by a bold and determined manifes- 
tation of resistance, to show that his highest ambition, 
as a patriot, is to contend for the principles laid down 
by the father of our country, and that he will not 
permit them to be wrested from that country through 
the machinations of silly, deluded visionaries or de- 
signing traitors. 

My brethren ! let the spirit of true patriotism pre- 
side over every act of your Society in this Hall ! Let 
an Union -loving disposition be cultivated in the early 
years of your life! Under no circumstances even 
permit yourselves to discuss the probable future of 
our Country, in case the Union should be dissolved. 
Recognize the right of decision, that the Constitution 
gives to the Supreme Judicature of your Country, as 
necessarily supreme and final, — in this, imitating the 
example of the distinguished person who has been 
honored with the chief office in the nation's gift, and 



21 

who presides over the destinies of your College. You 
have been taught that, where self-will establishes 
itself in opposition to the commands of Law, there is 
not, and cannot be Freedom. JN'o man can assume 
to himself the glorious title of Free, unless he lives 
in the element of Law, obeys its commands, respects 
its prohibitions, and honors it for the protection it 
affords. He who condemns every thing, that does 
not please his pampered fancy, or conform with his 
warped judgment, or satisfy his vitiated senses, is 
not Free. His slavery is more complete, — more op- 
pressive and soul- degrading than any man could im- 
pose. It is a slavery that implies the resignation of 
the whole man to the dominion of self-wdll, and from 
that time, Law loses its force over him unless it hap- 
pens to chime in with the dictates of this will. 

Banish from your company the traitor who talks 
of his country and its blessings as of small impor- 
tance in comparison with the establishment of cer- 
tain abstract principles which he views as right. 
Foenum licibet in cornii, — avoid him — a lad citizen is 
at heart a had man, — and he that touches pitch is 
defiled. Let your ranks ever be filled with those 
who shall rejoice in the success of our whole land, 
bound down to no petty local prejudices ; and who, 
wdiile respecting the spirit that animated our ances- 
tors in the establishment of the Union, are deter- 
mined that it shall, in good faith, be preserved 
through future time. Then will the graduate mem- 
bers sen£ forth from your Society be an honor to 
your history, shining as bright stars that can be 
proudly emblazoned on the shield of the Society's 
glory, and their names will be inscribed high up in 
that niche which contains the names of those whose 



2f 

patriotism has been pure and undefiled. The love 
of his Fatherland nerves the German student's arm 
with super-human energy, when the time for action 
arrives, and finds appropriate expression in the glow- 
ing words of Arndt's poetry :* 

Das ist der Deutschen Vaterland, 
Wo Eide schwort der Druck der Hand, 
Wo Treue hell vom Auge blitet 
Und Lielbe warm im Herzen sitzt, 
■x- « -x- * * 

Wo jeder Frevel heiszet Feind, 
Wo jeder Edie heiszet Freund. 

Das ganze Deutschland soil es seyn, 
Gott vom Himmel, sieh darein, 
Und gieb uns achten, deutschen Muth, 
Dasz "wir es lieben treu und gut. 

Is it not the privilege of the American student to 
rival his brethren of the German Universities in the 
cultivation of patriotic sentiments, and will he not 
join with one of our own Poets in cheering on the 
Ship of State, shouting in loud acclaim with his 
brethren — 

" In spite of rock and tempest roar 

In spite of false lights on the shore, 

Sail on, nor fear to breast the sea ! 

Our hearts, our hopes, are all with thee 

Our hearts, our hopes, our prayers, our tears, 

Our faith triumphant o'er our fears, 

Are all with thee, — are allvdth thee." 



^ "That is the German's Fatherland, 
Where oaths are sworn by grasp of hand ; 
Where in all eyes clear truth doth shine ; 
Where in warm hearts sits love benign. 

•X- * -H- 3fr * * 

Where all that's base 'neath hate must bend ; ' 
Where all that's noble name Ave Friend. 

That whole, the German land shall be 
God of Heaven ! hither see ! 
And give us genuine German soul. 
That we may love it high and whole." 

lllou-itfs Translation, 



23 

Lastly, let this Hall be dedicated to the purposes 
of Literature and Science. The Society has, for 
twenty-two years, been known by the name of one 
of Germany's greatest sons, — one, whose vast ac- 
quirements have excited the astonishment and ad- 
miration of the world, and whose strength of mind 
and true genius furnished many contributions to the 
highest departments of Science and Letters. It was 
a happy thought — ^to give Goethe's name to an Asso- 
ciation, which looked forward to the improvement of 
its youthful members in mental culture. The name 
was synonymous with labor, high resolves and great 
success. It implied that those who bore it should 
be no idlers in the world, but be ever diligent in ac- 
quiring the ability to employ knowledge of all kinds, 
— that the true motto for each one should be, 

Wie das Gestim, 

Ohne Hast 
Aber ohne Rast, 
Drehe sich jeder 
Urn die eigne Last.* 

Your duties as Christians and Patriots will be all 
the better performed, as your knowledge of the pleas- 
ant paths of letters is increased ; and each day will 
make you a stronger defender of your Religion and 
your Country, if it notes some progress in the study 
of the writings of the great and the good. Your 
reading, however, must not be one sided. While 
Philosophy, in its various departments, is needed 
that the superstructure of mental acquirement may 
have a firm basis, and History, Biography and Trav- 
els must be perused that a familiar acquaintance 
may be had of other ages and other lands, despise not 



* Like a star, -unLasting, unresting, be eacli one fulfilling his God-given 
hQst— Lewes' Life of Goethe, II., 44G. 



24 

the more graceful paths of Polite Literature, where 
Poetry and artistic Romance shall contribute the 
grace of ornament, the polish of style and every thing 
that will tend to refine and adorn the mind — ^thus 
forming the aesthetic portion of culture. Here, in 
those literary exercises, which the rules of your So- 
ciety may require of its members, all that you can 
read and digest may be directly employed, and the 
mind will thus be trained to rely on itself. Strength 
of thought, ease of expression and readiness are the 
results, in a greater or less degree, of such training. 
It is an important point in your College life that 
these Society literary exercises should be performed 
with great care and assiduity. They embody the 
practical employment of what is otherwise mere 
learning, but which, in this way, may in fact become 
wisdom. Consecrate then this Hall to the faithful 
cultivation of knowledge as embodied in the wide 
idea of Literature, and let nothing unworthy of an 
association with this idea ever be permitted to enter 
its walls. 

But we have said that the Hall is dedicated to 
Literature and Science^ and this age will not permit 
the two to be divorced without detriment. The time 
was when the former could exist without the latter, 
but now the immense applications of modern discove- 
ries — all force the study of science itself upon the 
educated mind. May its claims here receive the 
respect which Gcethe loved to give it, and which re- 
sulted in such profound contributions to the science 
of Optics and JM'atural History. Let not the idle 
twaddle of those ignorant of Science induce you to 
believe, for a moment, that it is hostile to Religion. 
Acquire a love for it here, — study its teachings with 



25 

diligence and care, and then you will recognize how 
grand are the claims of Science upon man's time and 
attention, — how great the necessity even now to 
avoid that which the Apostle bid Timothy to avoid — 
" the oppositions of Science falsely so calledJ^ 

On an occasion like this, I trust the discussion of a 
subject connected with the purposes for wdiich this 
building has thus publicly been dedicated, will not 
be considered as out of place ; and in the selection of 
one, I have avoided any thing connected with Liter- 
ature proper, as this whole field will be brought be- 
fore you in the regular exercises of the Society, and 
have chosen one which, while it accords with the 
character of my special studies, is not often brought 
before the public in its entirety and truth. Permit 
me to present a few reilections connected with " the 
Mission of Science," truly so called, wherein we may 
find that the subject is quite as charming as Milton 
considered " divine philosophy," 

" Not harsli and crabbed, as dull fools suppose, 

But musical as is Apollo's lute, 

And a perpetual feast of nectared sweets 

Where no crude surfeit reigns." \_CoTnus. 

The student of Science takes truth herself as his 
guide towards her home in the hidden mysteries of 
nature, and finds that nature's works " are travelling 
on the same road with him," — that the mountains 
and the valleys will open their hidden mysteries 
unto him, that the clouds will teach him the origin 
and cause of their glorious colorings, while the stars 
in the broad expanse of heaven will hail with joy the 
laborer on his way. We are told that the diamond, 
after having been exposed to the sun's light, may be 



26 

invested with a thick covering of vfax and carried 
into a dungeon of deepest darkness, and yet when 
the covering is removed, the rays of light which it 
had lovingly embraced, surround it with a lustre 
that makes it conspicuous even in obscurity. And 
in the same way, the coruscations of truth, which 
are caught up by the student of Science, in his on- 
ward progress, — which are lovingly absorbed into 
his soul, become brilliant starlights to mark his path 
through the world. 

The term Science has been sadly misapplied in our 
days. It has been made not only as broad as its 
etymology would justify, — not only to include what 
is known in the material or immaterial world, but 
whatever is pretended to be known, and thus by a 
singular misuse of a term, which is possessed of 
definite meaning, learning and ignorance, modest 
genius and impudent arrogance have in fact all been 
thrown together. The pugilist boasts of his Science, 
and demands as much respect from the world for it, 
as the latter is prepared to give to the attainments 
of a Himibolt or a JSTewton. The term is employed 
to dignify almost every art, from those of as little 
utility or respectability as boot-blacking and pugil- 
ism, upv\^ards through various grades of such useful 
or ornamental arts as the present state of civilization 
is constantly employing. JN'ow, the useful arts are 
based on principles which have been derived from 
Science, but it is, in the highest degree, derogatory 
to the latter, that the former should be designated 
as Sciences ; — their highest aim is merely to j^racti- 
calize the truths which are furnished them, — ^to act 
as machines, through which great principles, — the 
truths of nature may be externalized and made useful 



27 

to man. Science acts in the case of such arts as the 
mind, — the vitalizing agent, — the idea which, al- 
though mechanical appliances may be required for 
its adaptation to utilitarian wants, still though those 
should be absent for centuries, is not one particle the 
less attractive or beautiful, even in its existence as a 
mere abstraction devoid of sensual externalization, — 
remaining then proudly real though ideal, — grandly 
beautiful because an emanation from Truth itself. 
When the idea becomes, through means of Talent, 
the basis of an useful process or art, then the Avorld, 
which judges alone by results, welcomes it as an use- 
ful adjunct to man. Science is the mother of the 
useful arts, and not the older sister, as some would 
have us believe. Her children, under the nursing 
care of the man of talent, become ministers to the 
wants of man, aid him in controlling the mighty for- 
ces of nature, and even in making these willing and 
submissive slaves to man's behests. But if, in every 
instance, wdiere Science had announced the discovery 
of a new principle, the value of the latter were con- 
sidered as dependent on our ability to apply it to 
practical use, history would show us many most im- 
portant truths rejected because of the ignorance of 
man. Fortunately the value of a principle is deter- 
mined by its truth, and not by its immediate ap- 
plicability, — just as the axioms of Geometry, and 
all its propositions, are valuable, because they are 
abstractly true, even though it is found impossible 
to demonstrate their absolute truth in a material 
way. 

It may be stated as an axiom, that " the discovery 
of no scientific j^rinciple is to be considered of minor 
import, although ages may intervene before its utili- 



28 

ty can be demonstrated to the world." What then 
is Science, if it is not necessarily connected with the 
useful arts, although they are dependent on it for 
their very existence ? What position does it occu.py 
in the range of studies, that the Creator has proposed 
for the attention, the respect and the ardent admira- 
tion of man ? Is there any connection between the 
beautiful ideals of the im-agination, — those aesthetic 
realities of the poet's mind, though unknown to the 
rest of the world — and Science ? Are we to look for 
Science as some Goddess, who veils her fair face from 
the rude gaze of man ? Does she dwell in the em- 
pyrean regions above, only deigning to visit her vo- 
taries, at periods like those which fable ascribes to 
angels' visits ? Is her home in the deep blue vault 
of heaven, where the starry host light U23, with their 
mild rays, the hidden recesses of her palace ? Or 
must we dive to the depths of old JN'eptune's domains, 
to find her there, amid the uncouth monsters of the 
deep, the Amphitrite of those vast domains ? Let us 
know what she is, where is her abode — ^Avhat her 
mission, and how we can best honor her for the 
latter. 

Science is that form of knowledge which seeks out 
the fundamental principles of things, collects the 
leading truths that underlie all other knowledge, and 
thus constitutes the basis or substratum on which all 
the useful arts are permitted to rear their graceful 
forms. Her home is — everywhere. '' The whole 
boundless continent is hers." She is, to a certain 
extent, identical with Truth herself, or, as Ave should 
rather say, she is one of the forms with which truth 
invests herself when she partly unveils her face to 
man. Philosophy — which applies the principles an- 



29 

nounced by Science to the strict regimen and discip- 
line of abstract reasoning — is another form of Truth, 
in which her unveiled face shines with ever increas- 
ing lustre on the disciple. Poetry — the third form 
in which Truth presents herself, is removed from the 
sphere of abstract reasoning and has to do alone with 
the feelings, the imagination and the inmost soul of 
man. These three forms of Truth are, strictly speak- 
ing, not practical fer se, but are peculiarly adapted 
for producing immensely important practical results : 
Poetr}" — acting on the feelings, has a tendency to re- 
fine what is gross and sensual into something more 
beautiful, chaste and etherial, to incite to deeds of 
courage by inflaming the sluggish blood of the indo- 
lent and fanning the flames of valor in the bosoms 
of the brave, to bring sweet contentment to the rest- 
less soul, and to sing the deeds of those who have 
been great in conquering nations, mighty warriors, 
or, what is indicative of still greater heroism, their 
own evil passions : Philosophy — acting on the in- 
tellect, dealing with man's reasoning faculties, has 
the sterner duty of proving the existence of abstract 
truths and of demonstrating what is the value of that 
image of Himself, which the Creator has implanted 
in man. Science, however, being the most practical 
of the three, wdiile she avails herself of philosophy 
to support her reasoning, and poetry to surround her 
revelation with all the varied tropes and figures that 
can be draw^n so plenteously from her own store- 
house, does not hesitate to extend, as from a supera- 
bundant cornucopia, to her votaries, those rich and 
useful principles, whereon the useful arts can build 
themselves up, so as to become the monuments that 
man erects as indications of his advancement in the 
scale of civilization. 



m 

The three are different forms of truth, and, like 
that singular pantheistic idea of Brahma, which runs 
through the Hindoo Mythology, they are different 
manifestations of the same grand unity. We find in 
the Yedas,* that " Brahma is said to be the light of 
the sun, of the moon and of the fire, the Vedas are 
the breath of his nostrils ; the primitive elements are 
his eyes. In various forms he enlivens his creatures : 
in the form of fire he digests their nourishment ; in 
the form of air he preserves their lives ; as water he 
quenches their thirst ; as the sun, he ripens the fruits ; 
as the moon he gives refreshing sleep." In the 
course of his different incarnations the hosts of ani- 
mated beings, which people the earth, were created. 
Such is the relation which Truth bears to Philosophy, 
Poetry and Science,— these are actualizations of her 
existence through different agencies ; they are her 
incarnations (if I may be allowed to employ the 
word in the absence of a better to convey the idea) , 
and though each is subordinate to Religion — ^the 
purest form of truth, yet each has a specific mission 
to accomplish on earth. 

Of these three. Science is the most practical. She 
is most attractive on account of this practical ten- 
dency, and in consequence of her fitness for satifying 
the inquisitive longings of the human mind, and be- 
cause she often opens the way for the diligent culti- 
vation of the other members of this glorious triad. 

The human mind is ever desirous of prosecuting 
those studies that will enable it to accomplish some 
result, — that can be at once applied to the demands 
of the arts or the wants of life, — ^that will aid in the 



* Wright's India, 242. 



31 

subjection of the forces of nature and in making them 
the obedient servants to man's wishes. The gener- 
ality of mankind at the present time are averse to 
investigations which will not result in practical ben- 
efit. The age is decidedly utilitarian and hence most 
anxious to favor every thing that bears directly on 
the increase of wealth among its children. This 
utilitarian longing is perfectly satisfied by Science. 
Every trade and every profession exhibits, in every 
step forward that it takes, cogent illustrations of the 
practical benefits Avhich spring from the matronly 
kindness of Science. They are all dependent on the 
very abstract principles, which, at first, present no 
other claim to respect than that which arises from 
their being, subjectively and j^er se, true. 

The attractions, which arise, when we contemplate 
the beautiful operations of the laws of Science, are of 
no ordinary kind, — they claim no ordinary amount of 
admiration when once fully understood. Aye ! when 
we find that the laws which regulate the movements 
of countless worlds through space, so that astron- 
omers can calculate their paths for thousands of 
years to come, and define their position at any re- 
quired period of time with unerring accuracy, — when 
we find that these are so universal in their application 
that even the fall of the acorn from its parent oak 
is regulated by them, — is not such a discovery calcu- 
lated to excite our wonder and prove peculiarly at- 
tractive to an investigating mind ? But the attrac- 
tion grows more delightful when we look upon those 
treasures which Science presents in every quarter 
to which our observation may be directed ; when we 
learn how the seemingly lawless and irregular blasts 
of the winds, as they play over old JS'eptune's waves, 



are brougiit under something like system by Science 
and our vessels are even directed how to avail them- 
selves of the contradictions of the winds with the re- 
sult of shortening, by weeks, their tedious voyages ; 
- — how the electricity of the heavens — the symbol of 
Jove's own mighty power to the ancients — is made 
to move lambently and innocentlv along the magic 
rod of the Philosopher and thus deprived of near- 
ly all its power, is not only restrained from doing 
injury, but is actually forced to be the servant of 
man's commands^ — and made to carry his messages 
of grief or joy from land to land ; — how the grateful 
changes of the seasons are but illustrations of laws 
now well understood ;■ — how the clouds of heaven 
adorn themselves with sombre drapery of woe, or 
put on that gaudy attire of gold and purple, com- 
mingled with violet and hyacinth, which makes the 
setting of the orb of day " a thing of beauty, a joy 
forever " to the soul of man, and which invests the 
sky of Italy with a grandeur that painter and poet 
alike lament the inefficacy of material colors or words 
to portray, though they feel its wondrous effects in 
their inmost soul ; — how the bright bow of promise 
in the clouds resolves the light of the sun into its 
sevenfold component parts, and, while existing as a 
sacrament that Grod will never again cause the waters 
to cover the face of the earth, is also a brilliant exhi- 
bition of the primal constitution of light itself ; — how 
the remains of animals, that have passed through 
their fitful careers thousands of years since, may be 
adroitly fitted together, their forms depicted and 
their habits announced by an Owen or an Agassiz 
with a certainty that could not be surpassed, were 
they, living at the present time ; — how the changes, 



33 

which ruQ;i!red and adamantine rocks undergo, owing,- 
to tlie wasting influences of time and climate, are 
shown to be the necessary preparation for the forma- 
tion of soil, whereon afterwards " the grass, the herb 
yielding seed and the fruit tree yielding fruit after 
his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth," 
may grow in rich luxuriance ; — how the life of the 
plant may be followed from its first appropriation of 
the necessary chemical principles, from the atmos- 
phere and the soil, on to the development of the fi'uit, 
and then how the latter is converted into flesh and 
blood and bone in the living animal which consumes 
it for sustenance, while its own being, notwithstand- 
ing its freedom to accomplish certain tasks circum- 
scribed by its own strength and powers, is also sub- 
ject to such physical laws as are indispensable ac- 
companiments of vitality ; — how man himself — the 
master-piece of creation — exhibits in his mortal fi-ame 
a series of actions and powers which are subject to 
laws similar to those that are the moving causes of 
all inanimate nature, though they are restrained by 
the conditions of vitality and ennobled and refined by 
the indwelling of an immortal soul ; and lastly, how^ 
Science'*' teaches us, that " the heart is the one true con- 
jurer's bottle, pouring forth, aye, and at the same time, 
liquids the most unlike to satisfy thirsts as strange ; 
saliva to wet the lips, tears to relieve the eye, milk 
to swell the mother's breast, and oil to make supple 
the wrestler's limbs, and the whole organism is, as 
the older writers loved to call it, a Microcosm^ or 
world in little, where in one land they are rejoicing 
and in another weeping ; where on this shore they are 



* Edinburg Essays for 1856, 316. 

3 



34 

singing Te Deum, and on that shore Miserere ; where 
at the same moment it is a time to love, and a time 
to hate, a time of war and a time of peace." These, 
I say, are the attractions offered by Science, not only 
to the few who cultivate truth for its own sake, but 
also to those who will not acknowledge truth as val- 
uable, unless its practical value at once be made ap- 
parent to their eyes, — and who judge of her mani- 
festations by the amount of wealth these would bring 
into their coffers. 

But Science is also attractive on account of her 
being specially fitted for satisfying the inquisitive 
longings of the human mind after the solution of 
such mysteries as surround man in nature. He is 
living now under the countless disadvantages which 
appertain to a fallen condition. A restless spirit in- 
duced him to break the divine injunction that he 
should avoid "the tree of knowledge of good and 
evil," and he is suffering under the heavy penalty of 
death in consequence of this act of disobedience. 
Along with the penalty there was imposed the com- 
mand " to earn his bread by the sweat of his brow," 
which proves, however, to be a divine blessing, since 
if he were on earth surrounded by all the agonizing 
consequences of his fatal act, without the necessity 
of work to employ either body or mind, his punish- 
ment would be greater than his feeble nature could 
endure, and instead of heaven -directed countenance 
and heaven-directed aspirations, his body, soul and 
mind would rapidly sink below their present condi- 
tion, down even to the low and gTovelling nature of 
the brute. But the urgent command to work, taken 
in connection with the effects of that fruit which he 
ate, at the instigation of the Evil one, under the im- 



35 

pression that he should thenceforth be as one of the 
Gods, — these conjointly have made man's disposition 
a restless one, his mind ever eager for inquiry into 
the hidden nature of things, and his very existence 
dull and uninteresting unless it is continually occu- 
pied with novelty. And this necessity of work, I 
repeat, is a divine blessing. Labor is the highest 
blessing to fallen man ; indolence is his greatest curse. 
This labor is of a threefold character. In one as- 
pect it relates to his soul ; he has to study the varied 
and wonderful character of the sins that have accu- 
mulated on his moral nature like so many volcanoes 
throwdno- forth on the world around devastatino- tor- 
rents of wickedness and crime ; he has to work out, 
through the aid of infinite power, the solemn and 
mystic problem w^hich involves the removal of this 
weight of evil and his final attainment of eternal 
bliss. In another aspect it relates to the wants of 
his body ; he must continually supply it with proper 
food so that it shall have sufficient strength to en- 
dure the labors of his lot and to eke out his existence 
through the few years granted on earth. The 
body which encloses the wonderful mysteries of the 
human mind and the immortal soul must be kept in 
repair so that the latter can perform their proper 
functions. But in a third aspect, this labor relates 
to the mind. " It is tasked," to use the words of 
another, "with the physical earth as a problem, 
which, within the limits of a life, it must struggle to 
solve." The grasp of each human mind is wonder- 
fully comprehensive, but not sufficiently so to under- 
take the solution of this problem in its many forms. 
To effect this, the ^Derfection of mind would be re- 
quired ; the Deity Himself is alone able to appre- 



36 

hend tlie full extent of this problem, because it lias 
all proceeded from Himself, with whom to will and 
to execute are one and the same. Each human mind, 
however, can perform a portion of the task which has 
been assigned to humanity, and yet the sum total of 
the work of successive generations,— though a beau- 
tiful exhibit of the victories which can be gained by 
indefatigable labor, — will present many glaring in- 
accuracies and gross defects that shall mar the sym- 
metry of the temple of scientific knowledge ;■ — here 
there will be a column standing obliquely instead of 
vertical, — a capital in unharmonious proportions, — 
and there a portico too small to be architecturally 
adapted for such a superstructure, — here a moulding 
or a carving executed in too much haste to bring out 
clearly the idea of the designer, and there a spire or 
turret misplaced ; — and yet, with all its faults when 
examined by the Omniscient eye of the Architect of 
the universe, presenting itself to our eyes like some 
old Gothic cathedral, where pointed window and 
tower and turret and spire directed heavenwards 
seem to lead one's thoughts in the same direction, 
when standing in dreamy admiration at the base of 
the sacred structure. 

To assist in the accumulation of the material, 
wherewith this building is being erected, is one of the 
longings of the mind ; — in the works of the visible 
creation it finds attractions in proportion as the 
scientific principles which pervade the whole become 
clear. It can here use its command over the knowl- 
edge of that which is good^ so as to counteract the 
physical penalties appertaining to that which is evil. 
Inquiry can be indulged and nature interrogated 
from the first blush which tinges the cheek of Aurora 



37 

as the god of clay peers over the eastern horizon, 
until when with floods of light and gorgeous drapery 
he encouches himself behind the AM^stern hills. JN'or 
need man stojD there. The sable mantle of night does 
not check the x^rogress of inquiry and investigation. 
The student may strive faithfully and lovingly to en- 
gratiate himself into the favor of science, knowing 
that his reward is sure, although many days or even 
months of toil shall pass away before the victory shall 
be won. ]N"o season is unfitted for his pursuits. 
Even the chilling snows qf winter, its ice-bound riv- 
ers, wild stormy blasts of wind, and lifeless vegeta- 
tion, are all attractive, because they are the results 
of unerring laws, the enunciation of which is the pe- 
culiar province of science. When the genial rays of 
the sun bring on bright, smiling Spring, warm-heart- 
ed, affectionate womanly Summer, or matronly Au- 
tumn, man's powers are still more taxed to admire 
these three daugnters of the year with their manifold 
combinations of the beautiful. 

Whatever complaint can be brought, against oth- 
er branches of study, on the score of variety for in- 
teresting minds fond of novelty, it is evident that 
nothino; of the kind can be brouo-ht a^'ainst science. 
Every day its students are allowed to raise the veil 
somewhat higher than their predecessors, and to see 
a little more of the charming and attractive m^^ste- 
ries which are enshrouded by it. Although the por- 
tion revealed is small, still we dare not complain; for 
what is seen and understood is so much brighter 
than the cheerless view without, that we shudder to 
think of the veil of ignorance being again dropped, 
and each one, active in his sphere, labors to raise it 
higher and higher, nay ! — if the thing were possible 



38 

— to tear it down, so tliat there might be no means 
of concealing what is so lovely and attractive. 

Like the fair maiden, in whom her lover, each 
day, finds some new object for his admiration ; at first, 
the rosy cheek, the dark lustrous eye, the symmet- 
rical form, the graceful walk, — then, the bewitching 
sweetness of her womanly eloquence, and the joy- 
ous warblings of her voice in merry song, — then, 
the modesty of manner, the gentleness of disposition, 
the chasteness of thought and feeling, the enraptur- 
ing loveliness of soul, — he knows not which to ad- 
mire most, but submissively throws himself at her 
feet and owns his most ardent and devoted love : so 
Science becomes each day more charming to her de- 
votee, — each 23oint of view presents the beauteous 
charms with which her fair form is invested more 
impressively to his mind, and her lover finds him- 
self a ready, willing and submissive follower. 

Science also opens the way for the cultivation of 
Philosophy and Poetry. It furnishes the former 
those facts, from which Induction selects the prevail- 
ing spirit, — the generality that pervades them — and 
shaping it into a finished and perfected form, thus 
rounds oif our knowledge with the symmetry of truth. 
Indeed the two are as handmaidens in the train of 
Truth ; tAvin stars with such combined brilliancy that 
it is impossible accurately to tell where the light of 
the one begins or that of the other ends, but each, 
gradually and imperceptibly blending with the other, 
contributes to the formation of a pure dazzling light, 
which shall increase in brilliancy until the end of 
time. 

When Polytheism had begun to run riot with the 
religious feelings of Greece and Rome, we find that 



39 

their meagre glimpses at science induced the philos- 
ophers to investigate the nature of its principles, and 
from these slight buddings of kno^vledge they form- 
ed a number of deities, each one of whom was sup- 
posed to be the impersonation of a power of nature. 
The modern philosopher needs no such refuge. The 
nature of these j^owers is becoming better known and 
their laws more thoroughly understood. He can rise, 
from their contemplation, to the sublimest heights of 
reasoning as to *' man's first disobedience and the 
fruit of that forbidden tree, which brought death in- 
to the world and all our wo." The mere barren 
narrative of science, stri]3ped of its tendency to ex- 
cite philosophical reasoning and continued reflection 
on the origin of all its laws, can only please those 
whose blind adherence to pure materialism makes 
them fit every thing to their procrustean bed, but 
wdth the true thinker a vitality of thought will be 
excited that shall urge him onwards to the deepest 
and most satisfactory solutions of the physical prob- 
lem w^hich has been mysteriously conjoined wdth his 
spiritual existence. 

But what influence has Science on Poetry ? Have 
they not been also intertwined as far back as man's 
earliest knowledge of the former? Have not, in 
many instances, the very impersonations, which 
Poetry has adopted to rej^resent the forces of nature, 
been shown by Science afterwards to dimly adum- 
brate the true laws which govern them ? When 
the advance of knowledge has placed us in a position 
to examine these laws, and to understand the phe- 
nomena produced by them, has not Poetry seized the 
later reading of nature's book, given her by Science, 
and, clad with a more glorious and bedazzling garb 



40 

of trope and figure, has slie not become all the more 
attractive to the world? When in ignorance, all 
forces were deified, how could the idea of many gods, 
each ruling over his own speciality and fighting with 
deadliest hate against his peers, compare in sublimi- 
ty with that which arises from a consideration of 
Science, under the reverential influence of true reli- 
gion. Do not Eeligion and Science necessarily in- 
vest each other with a peculiar sublimity, when each 
shows, independent of the other, that there exists 
but one Grod, consistent and true, — ^the controller of 
nature and its forces, and that the laws of nature itself 
are as fixed and unchangeable as the fiat of such an 
existence could make them ? Were the trivial and 
even contemptible causes given for continued wars 
between the fabled deities of the worst days of Pagan- 
ism, half so incitive to poetic feelings as the contem- 
plation of a thunder-storm under the guidance of 
modern Science, — no longer to be viewed as the evi- 
dence of angry and warring deities, but as the result 
of laws which may be comprehended by the school 
boy and yet are prolific in scenes that may make the 
stoutest tremble, if not assured that he is under the 
protection of One, who 

"Plants his footsteps in the sea 
And rides upon the storm." 

Does not Science even enable us to appreciate the 
sublimity of the Poetry which breathes in every word 
of such grand descriptions of a storm, written by the 
Hebrew poet in his hour of inspiration, as the fol- 
lowing : " The voice of the Lord is upon the water ; 
the God of glory thundereth ; the Lord is upon many 
waters ; the voice of the Lord is powerful ; the voice 
of the Lord is full of majesty. He maketh light- 



41 

nings with rain. He destroyed their vines with hail. 
He smote with hail in all the labors of the harvest. 
The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedars, yea, the 
Lord breaketh the cedars of Lebanon." 

But waiving additional interrogatories, let us ex- 
amine for a moment, a few instances of the draughts 
that Poetry can and does imbibe from the fount of 
Science, and, as I take it, there will be little difficul- 
ty in readily perceiving their value ! Hunt has well 
said, on this subject — " The sylph moistening a lilly 
is a sweet dream ; but the thoughts which rise when 
we first learn that its broad and beautiful dark-green 
leaves, and its pure and delicate flavor, are the re- 
sults of the alchemy which changes gross particles of 
matter into symmetric forms, — are, after our incre- 
dulity has passed away, of an exalting character." 
And the true poet of the present day rejects the old 
similes and ]3ersonifications of classic periods and 
employs those which Science furnishes, since they 
are more suited to the poetic feeling, being more 
beautiful and true. He comprehends that, 

" Theses in flowers and men are more than seeming; 

Workings are they of the self-same powers, 
"Which the poet in no idle dreaming, 

Seeth in himself and in the flowers." 

As the true relations of the different parts of J^a- 
ture are being unfolded, the wonderful beauty of the 
whole is more appreciated by the poet, whose exis- 
tence seems to depend on the beautiful. Science ex- 
hibits the harmonious adaptation of the various 
I)arts, — its beauty affords him a new view of nature 
which is real and true. It is no idle dream that the 
beautiful is true. If this were not the case, both 
morally and physically, we might find truth in the 



42 

moral and natural world associated with that which 
is its antipode — glaring falsehood. 

But see the beauties which nature exhibits when 
Science is our guide. The little flower-bud gradu- 
ally unfolds its charms under the enticing influences 
of the dew and the sun of the spring morning ; its 
bright corolla greets the orb of day, with an array 
of beauty that art despairs of imitating, and ex- 
hales matchless odors, — all this strikes a responsive 
chord in the sympathetic heart of the poet, which 
vibrates in unison with the key-note of the grand 
anthem nature is hymning forth in honor of its Cre- 
ator. The aged trees join in this song of praise, — 
and merry birds warble their sweet accompaniment 
to the mighty melody ; — all material creation, with 
its Maker's greatness — mysterious yet not all-incom- 
prehensible — clearly impressed on its surface, swells 
the chorus, while the cataract, with its thundering 
roar, produces the full and sonorous bass. 

What similes, borrowed from mythology with re- 
gard to the source and nature of Light, can compare 
in grandeur with the truths, which modern Science 
has furnished poetry ? The time required for the 
passage of light from one fixed star to another is so 
great, that hundreds and thousands of years are ne- 
cessary, in some cases, for its passage. If it were 
possible to command instruments of power sufficient 
to see objects on such stars, the mind may well won- 
der at the striking efl^ects that could be thus jDrodu- 
ced. The wonders of _2J(2S^ centuries in such spheres, 
would be the living deeds of the present time with 
us ; and could an inhabitant of a distant sphere look 
through such instruments at the Earth, the incidents 
of OUT present history would be discerned in the far 



43 

distant fuiure of his abode. An anonymous writer 
suggests that Luther at the council of Worms coukl 
be seen if we were located on one of the fixed stars, 
where three hundred years is required for the pas- 
sage of light to the earth ; and " to the view of an 
observer from another fixed star, our Saviour ap- 
pears noiv upon earth performing his miracles and 
ascending into heaven." " The universe incloses the 
pictures of the past, like an indestructible and incor- 
ruptible record containing the purest and clearest 
truth. * ^ '^ The pictures of every occurrence 
propagate themselves into the distant ether, upon 
the wings of the ray of light ; and, although they be- 
come weaker and smaller, yet in immeasurable dis- 
tance they still have color and form ; and as every 
thing possessing color and form is visible, so must 
these ]Dictures also be said to be visible, however im- 
possible it may be for the human e^^e to perceive it 
with the hitherto discovered optical apparatus." 
What a world of wonders in this dream, nay, let us 
call it, this reality of Science ; and poets must ex- 
haust language in vain efibrts to portray it for the 
contemplation of man ! 

But are there no poetic realities to be found, when 
we look at the machines art has constructed in ac- 
cordance with the principles advanced by Science ? 
Has not even the steam-engine, with its smoke-be- 
grimmed chimney, its roaring furnace, its regular 
monotonous puff of steam, and its continued rising 
and falling of piston rods, — has it not a spirit capable 
of evoking poetical expressions from the lover of the 
beautiful ? Does it not speak of might, unequalled 
b}^ that of any other mechanical agency, conjoined 
with gentleness ? — and exhibit a fit emblem of an 



44 

age which is fast hurling superstition back to that 
oblivion, in whose dark waters it should find its 
home ? Is it not a better representation of strength 
and energy than the old conception of the Titans ? 

If Science be as already described, and these, the 
attractions with which she surrounds herself, what is 
the nature of her mission to man ? Has she any spe- 
cial mission assigned her ? If she has to do with 
the leading truths that underlie the phenomena of 
nature, she must certainly be specially interested in, 
what has been called, " the plastic expression of the 
divine creation," and her mission must be something 
greater, more extensive, more comprehensive than 
that which is ordinarily recognized when she is con- 
sidered simply as the fosterer of the useful arts. 
She has a duty to perform, that is not limited to a 
provision for man's physical wants, but which in- 
cludes ministrations to his mental and even moral 
nature. Her laws point out, with exactness, the ne- 
cessary existence of only One Lawgiver, whose infin- 
ite knowledge and power enabled him to frame them 
free from the clashing contradictions, with which 
human laws ever abound. They show that, since 
the human mind pants after a full acquaintance with 
their action, and only attains, at most, to a glimpse 
of their beauty, there must be a condition hereafter 
in which it shall embrace a fuller and more satisfac- 
tory view of the whole. And, indeed, as the blessed 
Apostle, the philosophic Paul, so beautifully sug- 
gested in his Epistle to the Corinthians, they adum- 
brate the resurrection of the body, after this life of 
toil and sorrow, in that they show the plant repro- 
duced from the seed in its own specific form, after 
the original has undergone decay and death, and the 



45 

seed itself is not quickened to life except it die. A 
knoAvledge of the greatness of tlie Deity is not only 
furnislied, but Plis goodness is set forth in the exhi- 
bition of means contrived for supplying the animal 
creation with proper sustenance to sustain its mem- 
bers in their daily duties. A great man once said, 
" the undevout astronomer is mad." We may go 
further, and claim madness as the only excuse for 
want of true devotion in the case of any man of 
Science. " True natural philosophy conducts to God, 
and contempt of nature fi'om Him. A spirit striving 
against new discoveries in n^iture, from its slavish 
attachment to the letter of the past, '-' * * * 
such a spirit leads directly, through the darkening 
of the unintellectual eye, from Grod to the idols of 
superstition, that is, to hecithenism."* 

The mission of Science is to act as an aid to man 
in solving the physical problem, which is connected 
with his relations to the world, and as an assistant 
to religion by substantiating and confirming the 
great truths that are embodied in the revealed word. 

We have seen how man is allowed by Science to 
enter, as it were, into the very arcana of IS'ature, 
She answers as the clue which will guide him 
through the labyrinthine mazes of superstition and 
ignorance into the broad light of day. If this clue 
be held in firm grasp, never relinquished for a mo- 
ment, his course will be inevitably towards the light ; 
but, if lost, he wanders through the mazes of base- 
less speculation and becomes involved in wondrous 
darkness. 

The utilitarian value of scientific research is by no 



* Ennemoser's Hist, of Magic, 11, 16. 



46 

means the prominent idea in the accomplishment of 
its mission. The former is an incidental advantage 
springing up by the way side. The practical results 
of Science in this way furnish material with which 
the wants of the animal body can be supplied. If 
the mind, however, rests content wdth such results, 
it has failed to comprehend the true end and design 
of Science. It is true that we have just shown that 
it is often attractive to man on accoimt of such utili- 
tarian results, but these are, by no means, the real 
attractions to which we wish to draw attention. The 
physical problem includes something infinitely great- 
er than the mere satisfaction of animal wants, — 
something more worthy of the student's profound 
veneration and deepest study. Its investigation 
must be carried on with a child-like faith in the 
truths of religion, ^ — with a firm belief in the perfect 
accordance of the Laws of God, as operating by ma- 
terial means, and as laid down in the Revealed 
Word. Such investigation will enable the student 
to appreciate the mission of Science in its widest and 
most catholic sense. 

PMlosoj^Jiia oUter libata ahducit a Deo^ penitus 
hausta reducit ad eundem. The present period in the 
history of Science abounds with instances illustra- 
tive of this idea ; and the history of each particular 
Science exhibits its truth. Whenever separate 
truths are caught up by minds not able to discuss 
them, they are subject to false and illogical combi- 
nations, which result in the assumption of unsound 
premises. Should the latter be taken as the basis 
of syllogistic reasoning, nothing but ridiculous and 
false conclusions will be the result. Conclusions, 
obtained by such means, in the beginning of investi- 



47 

gations, have often attacked the very foundations of 
our belief in Religion, Revelation and, sometimes, 
alas ! in the very existence of God himself. Reli- 
gious men have recoiled with the holiest liorrur from 
such attacks, — ^liave shuddered to think that the blest 
foundations, on which they had raised all their hopes 
for the future, should be thus rudely unsettled, and 
that the very corner-stone should be removed from 
the structure of their faith so as to throw it prostrate 
on the ground. Religious fanaticism then, as ever, 
blind to the true nature of causes, has branded 
Science as opposed to Christianity and infidel in its 
character, — as a something that might do very well 
for supplying one with the necessities of life, but 
which must be treated as the malefactor who has 
been doomed by the Law to work for the benefit of 
the State, being at the same time enshackled and 
enfettered by heavy irons so as to prevent him doing- 
mischief to its citizens . But the prudent and thought- 
ful have doubted whether, after all this excitement, 
the conflict between Science and Religion might not 
be more apparent than real. If investigations, how- 
ever, are merely made into the legitimacy of conclu- 
sions as seqidtiirs from such premises, but little pro- 
gress is effected towards removing the seeming op- 
position. The premises must be examined and care- 
fully tested with regard to tlieir claims as stable, well- 
tried truths. When such labor is undertaken under 
the stimulus of a genuine thirst for knowledge, error 
after error will be revealed, and the true relations of 
the facts, from which the premises have been con- 
structed, will be understood. Truths shall thus be 
obtained, which will unfold or develope themselves 
into systems, that, instead of contradicting Religion, 



48 

will stand by it on the battle-field of this earth, clad 
in the panoply of war and eager to do battle in its 
cause. If the infancy of a Science is apparently hos- 
tile to Religion, — ^this must be ascribed to our igno- 
rance of its principles. Further knowledge will 
show us where the error lies and will demonstrate 
the perfect accordance of the two, Science and Reli- 
gion, i. 
Geology, when first introduced, met with the cool- 
est reception on the part of the Christian. There 
was such apparent contradiction between the state- 
ments of Geology and those of the sacred historian 
Moses, that the believer, clinging with great affection 
to the Revealed Word, hurled aside the Science as 
a delusion, and the geologist stood ready to sacrifice 
eVen his belief in the truth of the sacred narrative, 
rather than give up what seemed so clearly demon- 
strated to his mind. In the progress, however, of 
geological investigation and of scriptural exegesis, it 
was found that this contradiction was only apparent, 
and thus huge stumbling blocks were removed from 
the path of the student. The clear light of Truth 
began to beam brightly on his labors. Instead of an 
opponent, Geology changed her position and she is 
now to be found foremost among those sciences which 
are executing their great mission in substantiating 
and confirming the great truths which are embodied in 
the revealed word, l^o longer does she stray from the 
paths of devotion, but returns, in the beautiful lan- 
guage of the learned Cardinal Wiseman,* "no long- 
er as she first went forth, a willful, dreamy, empty- 
handed child, but with a matronly dignity and a 



Connection between Science and Revealed Religion, I, 307. 



49 

priest-like step, and a bosom full of well-earned gifts 
to pile upon its sacred hearth." 

In the progress of some of the sciences, a similar 
anti-religious position may be assumed, which, be- 
ing seized by the artful and sophistic, is used to pre- 
pare the way for latitudinarian views that eventuate 
in the baldest infidelity. The deliverer always comes. 
Science is too jealous of her own integrity and puri- 
ty of purpose, to suffer herself to rest under imputa- 
tions of being forgetful of such high duties as rever- 
ence to religion. She raises up one of her sons, 
whom she supplies wdth proper weapons to extermi- 
nate the traitors in her camp. Whence he shall 
come is a matter of perfect indifference; it may be 
from the upper walks of life, but most likely fro»m 
the humblest station, even from the quarry, as a 
Hugh Miller of Cromarty, a gallant knight to do 
battle for Science in her glorious mission on earth. 
By such means she strips infidelity of the robes it 
has stolen from her own abode, and leaves it expos- 
ed in its true and naked deformity to the world. 

"The feeMe sea-birds, blinded in the storms, 
On some tall light-house dash their little forms, 
And the rude granite scatters for their pains 
Those small deposits that -were meant for brains. 
Yet the proud fabric, in the morning's sun, 
Stands all unconscious of the mischief done ; 
Still the red beacon pours its evening rays 
For the lost pilot with as full a blaze, 
Nay, shines, all radiance, o'er the scattered fleet 
Of gulls and boobies brainless at its feet. 

I tell their fate, though courtesy disclaims 
To call our kind by such ungentle names ; 
Yet, if your rashness bids you vainly dare, 
Think of their doom, ye simple, and beware."* 

The mission of Science will now be granted, we 



* Holme's Stability of Science. 

4 



50 

trust, to be of such a character as to elicit our high- 
est admiration. But liow does it, in any way, sub- 
stantiate or confirm the truths of Revelation ? This 
is a query relevant to our discussion. Are not these 
truths to be received because they are of divine ori- 
gin, and because we have internal assurance as 
proof of their authenticity ? While replying affirm- 
atively to this interrogatory, we can also say that 
truth will never contradict itself, — that it must be 
perfect in all its minutiae, — harmonious and sys- 
tematic in all its parts, and if a contradiction 
could be found even in the smallest particular it 
would be an argument cogent and all powerful 
against the whole. Consistency must be exhibited 
by truth under whatever garb we find it, and hence 
we have the right to expect that all the references in 
Revelation to physical matters should be fully con- 
firmed and substantiated by the various departments 
of Science. And we may enter upon the most search- 
ing comparison of the two, and if, at first glance, ap- 
parent contradictions present themselves, these must 
not induce us either to reject the one or the other. 
Efibrts then must be redoubled to acquire the fullest 
knowledge of the apparent contradiction. The dross, 
which has been mixed with the jDure gold in conse- 
quence of the ignorance or wickedness of the refiner, 
must be removed, and when the assay is completed 
there will be obtained the noble metal freed from 
all impurities, which will exhibit the utmost uniform- 
ity of properties with the gold that is found in the 
revealed word. It is a ivant of thorough scientific 
knowledge that makes the skeptic. 

The religious subjects, which can be elucidated and 
substantiated by Science, are neither few nor unim- 



51 

portant in their character. The range is quite ex- 
tensive, — from the formation of the earth itself, the 
wonderful account of a deluge which involved the 
land and all its inhabitants, the dispersion of the na- 
tions, the destruction of the wicked cities of the plain, 
the interesting incidents in the history of the favored 
nation, — the varied descriptions of climate and coun- 
try and productions, and manners and customs — 
even to the physical causes of His death, in whom 
all Science and knowledge are united, and where 
they find their grandest apotheosis. The most posi- 
tive confirmation of all these is afforded from the 
storehouse of Science. 

Scriptural exegesis itself has been greatly aided 
by the interpretations of Science. We need only 
refer to the beautiful explanation given by the Eng- 
lish Chemist of the passage, " If thine enemy hunger, 
feed him ; if he thirst, give him drink ; for in so do- 
ing thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head.'^ 
This has been often quoted to show how refined a 
species of revenge can be obtained by returning good 
for evil, as though the Scriptures really advised such 
a plan as a most excellent mode of retaliation to- 
wards an enemy. But Chemistry teaches us,"^ that 
this is a " beautiful metaphor, taken from the ob- 
servance of the ancient practice of smelting ores with 
carbonaceous fuel, and meaning, to soften and sub- 
due the enemy by kindness, as metals are melted 
and reduced by fire." 

Again, the statements presented in the Mosaic ac- 
count of the Creation, are confirmed and substantia- 
ted by such evidence as this : geological truths im- 

* Griffith's Chemistry of Four Seasons, 290. 



52 

pressed in lithographs which have withstood the 
wearing effects of time, — strata filled with priceless 
treasures to the zealous naturalist, — the bodies or 
impressions of the bodies of living beings that have 
been locked up for centuries since their death in the 
rocky embrace of the earth,— lofty mountains pierc- 
ing the heavens with their cloud-capped summits 
and deep valleys shut out from the light of the sun, 
—beds of coal disentombed after an interment of a 
thousand years. A love of Truth has induced the 
scientific man to investigate the nature of each sep- 
arately, without reference to any supposed con- 
nection between them and the Scripture record. But 
Science, true to its mission, has gradually made 
known a more thorough knowledge of these subjects, 
and then has exhibited their importance as proof 
most irrefragable of the statements of Revelation. 
Many of her votaries have been led to such conclu- 
sions, although their studies had been directed to- 
wards the disproving of Revelation. 

And now again when a blow is aimed at the truths 
of religion, by the announcement that the varied 
forms of organic matter have been produced through 
the agency of a principle or law of development, — 
thus doing away with the idea of the necessary su- 
X)erintendence of the Deity, — ^when experiments, 
badly conceived and carelessly made, are brought 
forward as affording presumptive proof of the nature 
of the first generation of living beings, — (I refer to 
the experiments of the late Mr. Crosse of England, 
who alleged that he obtained, by exposing pulverized 
flints for a long time to the action of Electricity, a 
small insect, and thence concluded that he had de- 
tected the mode by which the germs of organic life, 



53 

although themselves inorganic, were quickened into 
life and being, and these afterwards by a series of 
gradual developments were elevated in the scale of 
being until the complete development was reached 
in the formation of man himself:) — even here Science 
has come forth and demonstrated the ridiculous 
character of the deductions made from experiments, 
the results of which could be explained in many 
other ways, and hurling aside such rash and ill- 
formed conclusions, has given strength to the idea 
— obtained from Eevelation — that there is no pro- 
ductive force in existence that can evoke life fi^om 
inanimate matter, save " the Spirit of God which 
first moved upon the face of the waters." 

Have we not the right to expect, in view of these 
facts in the past history of Science, that any apparent 
anti-religious character it may possess, will always 
be removed as a knowledge of its principles becomes 
more complete and thorough ? The young science 
of Ethnology, which is now loud in assertions that 
appear to strike at the truth of the Mosaic account 
of creation, as it grows up to the stature of manhood 
must show that it is also true to the mission of 
Science, and bring confirmation to the scriptural ac- 
count, rather than be recreant to this mission as at 
the present time, by leading the human mind off 
into disquisitions, which, although resulting in legit- 
imate conclusions, yet possess premises that are most 
loose and unscientific. With an abiding confidence 
in the nature of the mission of Science, religion may, 
here as elsewhere, fear nothing when Ethnology is 
better understood by its cultivators. 

The whole biblical history has been confirmed with 
wonderful exactness by the sciences which take spe- 



54 

cial cognizance of the natural history of countries, in 
which its personages have lived and died. The zeal- 
ous labors of a gallant officer of the American ISTavy 
have demonstrated how true, even to the very letter, 
was the devastation alleged to have been produced 
when the cities of the plain were destroyed for their 
wickedness. An indefatigable English traveller has 
disentombed from Nineveh the strongest corrobora- 
tions of its past history, — and has even detected such 
records on its monuments as have fully sustained the 
account of the miracle which was performed in the 
case of the prophet Jonah. The records of Geology 
bear signal testimony, not only to the mighty revo- 
lutions which must have taken place in the forma- 
tion of the earth, but also to others produced by a 
flood of waters which fully substantiate the deluge of 
Noah. 

When G-erman skepticism attacked the account of the 
crucifixion and death of Christ, German science came 
forth and showed how true it must be, from the very 
physical circumstances connected with the crucifix- 
ion as narrated by the Evangelists, and as compared 
with other cases on record and the facts of Physiolo- 
gy. Science, as we have already remarked, fights 
her own battles, with deep devotion to her mission, 
and, with a widely unfurled banner, bearing the in- 
scription, " Let there be light," goes forth conquer- 
ing all error, breaking up the resting places of igno- 
rance and superstition, bringing light to dark places, 
and adding fuel to those flames which are burn- 
ing with such pure lustre and brilliance on the altar 
of Religion. Her mission must thus eventuate, in 
the presentation of a higher and truer appreciation 
of the physical problem to every human mind, — and 
in a preparation, with all due reverence be it said, 



55 

for the proper understanding of the spiritual prob- 
lem, which it is man's duty to solve under the guid- 
ance of Religion's laws. 

We can honor this mission by lovingly cultivating 
Science, — each, in his own sphere, adding something 
to the sum of human knowledge. By means of ex- 
periment those principles, which are propounded for 
our credence can be tested, — the experimentation 
being effected either by the mechanical appliances 
which art has furnished, or by that mental alchemy 
which can extract pure gold from any possible alloy. 
Thus we shall not dishonor Science, by the employ- 
ment of principles wrested from their true uses and 
warped by our own mental obliquity, but place her 
in the proud position of being the hand-maiden of 
Religion. 

Good and true men must learn to bear with her, 
w^hen distortions of her principles are flaunted be- 
fore them as truths. They must learn not to reject 
truth, because of the errors, with which she is envel- 
oped by man's own inventions ; but rather learn how 
the coverings thus employed can be torn off and the 
true nature of the figure exhibited. Let them exer- 
cise an honest faith in her own ability to throw off 
excrescences and morbid growths, iind to put on a 
healthy vital action, even in those parts where dis- 
ease seems most to cripple her energies. 

When truth and error are arrayed against each 
other, the issue of the combat can be predicted with- 
out any great prophetic skill. It will be in accord- 
ance with the Law which was established when this 
world and its sister spheres were planned in the coun- 
cil-chambers of eternity — the Right shall ultimately 
conquer, and Truth must ever be victorious over the 
oppositions and assaults of Error. 



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